When Shadow Meets the Bodhisattva by Andrew Cohen

Author:Andrew Cohen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spirituality
Publisher: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Published: 2022-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

On February 7, 2017, I took the plunge. I formally ended my sabbatical after almost four years of absence from the public eye and led my first relaunch retreat in Paris. The night before the event I went to bed plagued by a sense of insecurity so strong that it made me feel like I couldn’t go through with the event. But to my great relief I woke up the next morning bathed in a state of joy and lightness of being, and I knew that everything would be fine.

It was a small gathering of about twenty people, several of whom were long-term students who supported my reemergence as a teacher. Being with my students again, the guru function in me reactivated. I had instant access to the same spiritual clarity and intensity I had always experienced during my years as a guru. It felt like stepping back into a hurricane of consciousness and energy. From the very first moment it was obvious that the guru function had never been lost, despite how it had appeared to me over the last three and a half harrowing years. It had always remained fully present in the background, untouched by any drama, ready to reemerge.

It was a delight to be teaching again. I shared my understanding of the causes of the dissolution of EnlightenNext and my subsequent personal ordeal of being lost and falling back into an unenlightened disposition. Then I described the transformation I went through as a result of the crisis, both as a guru and as a man. Judging by the dialogues we had, most of those present could feel that I had softened. It was a moving and memorable first gathering. Many were profoundly impacted by the palpable intensity and presence of Spirit that is ignited in the company of a guru. For my students, more than anything else it was a moment of renewed connection with the uncompromising nature of the Absolute, and they reawakened to what it means to be in relationship with this mysterious force.

The activation of the guru function is actually not a well-considered choice. It happens spontaneously, whenever there is a sincere receiver who approaches the guru in a spirit of genuine sacrifice of the self. By its very nature, the guru function lies dormant until it is called out, and when it is, it simply responds to whatever is required, without deliberation or judgment. It feels like a selfless metaphysical compulsion, a magnificent mystery to which even the teacher submits. It leaves one no choice but to step out of the way and live up to its calling. The essence of the guru function is its power to impart awakened awareness in the hearts and minds of those who are open to its impact. Its transcendental energy is infectious. It lights up the immense love, deep peace, and inspired wisdom that is already present within you as the innermost secret of your own heart.

In my case, the guru principle expresses itself most

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